There are many existing ways to transport a golf bag in a golf cart. Most golf carts in use today have a strap assembly positioned at the back of the cart that wraps around a golf bag to secure it to a shallow-well storage shelf or other receptacle located at the rear of the cart. These, however, are not very secure, and it is often the case that bags and/or their contents experience significant movement and potential damage when one uses such a strap assembly integrated with a golf cart. U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0082184 discloses one method of securing a golf bag to a golf cart, in which a strap assembly is sewn or otherwise affixed directly to a golf bag, permitting a user to removably couple the golf bag to a portion of the golf cart. Despite this, however, there is no device in existence which permits a user to removably couple golf bags of any size to any golf cart configuration and which is still a removable accessory or part of a removable accessory, and specifically designed to provide adequate protection to prevent damage to golf bags and the contents thereof. It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a product which is an after-market or add-on accessory that does not require extra components permanently affixed during manufacturing directly onto a golf bag.
Similarly, there are many types of clips and clamps in the marketplace. Clips and clamps that are machined to secure items together in a high-torque environment and/or items of substantial size or weight have been available for many years. However, none of these are suitable for securing a golf bag to a golf cart because they are not designed with the specific attributes of golf bags and golf clubs in mind, nor or they are they adjustable to accommodate different types of golf carts. Devices such as industrial-use, quick jaw spring clamps provide too much pressure, raising the possibility of damage to golf bags, and do not permit adjustment when coupling the golf bag to a golf cart. One reason no one has previously considered to apply or modify such existing clamps or clips to a golfing environment is because golf bags and golf carts were largely of uniform design, so golf cart baskets provided limited yet adequate support for the short term uses of many casual golfers. However, with advances in golf bag and golf club technology, the golf industry has seen a dramatic increase in the average golfer's investment in their equipment, and the need to maximize protection for their investments in such items. Also, specialization in golf bag design has come to the point where a clamp design that is easily compatible with any golf bag has become advantageous, as there are many different existing types and sizes of golf bags available today. It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a means for securing a golf bag to a golf cart with an apparatus that has been machined with appropriate application of tension and force to adequately protect golfer equipment.
Similarly, users of golf bags that have a telescoping mechanism such as that disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0082184 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,337,898 have no way of operating such a mechanism when a golf bag is secured by a cart-provided strap mechanism. Golfers must remove such a golf bag to gain access to the contents that the telescoping mechanism permits. It is therefore another objective of the present invention to provide a means for securely coupling a golf bag to a golf cart in such a way that still permits users to have full access to the contents of the bag while it is secured to the cart, regardless of the type golf bag used.